We Are Sure!

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38–39

Paul’s argument ends in a kind of doxology or confession of his faith. And now is a good time to recall what was set forth at the beginning of this journey through Romans. Paul’s letter to the Romans follows a chiastic structure that reaches its highest and most important point at the center: Chapter 8, the Glory of the Gospel.

1:1-17 Introduction

     1:18-3:30 Chaos (Devolution of Humanity)

          4-5 Faith Saves

               6-7 Two Regimes

                    8 The Glory of the Gospel

               9-11 Two Branches

          12-13 Faith Works

     14-15 Cosmos (Evolution of Humanity)

16 Farewell

Another way of considering this letter is to see it as an ascent to the summit of a great mountain and then a descent down the otherside. The mountain is the gospel and the summit is its glory. These two verses are like a flag posted at the summit. 

Paul has led his readers up the front side of the mountain of the gospel (the theological side) and has posted his flag at the summit: Because of the gospel—this good news of which he is not at all ashamed (Romans 1:16-17)—nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Think of anything that arouses fear in us and present it to one of the categories Paul lists and see if it can separate us. Tyrants? Disease or viruses? Satanic forces? Nothing in all of creation can do it! 

Hallelujah! We are sons of God! We are joint-heirs with Christ! We are accepted in the Beloved! We are safe in the love of God. Though our redemption is not yet realized in time, it is complete in the omniscience of God. And in the meantime, God, through his Spirit in us, is conforming us more and more into the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.

What do we then do with this knowledge and understanding of the gospel? That is what we will discover as we make our way down the opposite side of the gospel mountain (the practical side) in chapters 9-16.